Texts
Dinnshenchas Érenn
Incoming data
The Dinnshenchas Érenn is a compilation of literary compositions, in prose or verse, on lore surrounding the prominent places of Ireland. These texts usually offer origin legends which purport to explain how a well-known place in Ireland, such as a certain hill, plain or lake, received its present or former name. The genesis of this collection is usually dated to the late Middle Irish period (11th and 12th centuries).
Manuscript witnesses
Text
Dublin, Royal Irish Academy, MS B ii 2
A fragment.
Text
pp. 151–158, 161–164, 211–214, 215–216, 191–210, 208–214 (facsimile)
Text
Edinburgh, National Library of Scotland, Adv. MS 72.1.16
Parts of the prose and five poems.
Text
Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Rawlinson B 506/ff. 1-16a
Parts of the prose and Temair V.
ff. 11ra (line 1)–15vb (line 24)
Sources
Primary sources Text editions and/or modern translations – in whole or in part – along with publications containing additions and corrections, if known. Diplomatic editions, facsimiles and digital image reproductions of the manuscripts are not always listed here but may be found in entries for the relevant manuscripts. For historical purposes, early editions, transcriptions and translations are not excluded, even if their reliability does not meet modern standards.
[ed.] [tr.] Gwynn, E. J. [ed. and tr.], The metrical dindsenchas, 5 vols, Todd Lecture Series, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, Dublin: Hodges, Figgis, 1903–1935.
CELT – vol. 1 (edition): <link> CELT – vol. 1 (translation): <link> CELT – vol. 2 (edition): <link> CELT – vol. 2 (translation): <link> CELT – vol. 3 (edition): <link> CELT – vol. 3 (translation): <link> CELT – vol. 4 (edition): <link> CELT – vol. 4 (translation): <link> Internet Archive – vols 1-3: <link> Internet Archive – vol. 2: <link> Internet Archive – vol. 3: <link> Internet Archive – vol. 4: <link> Internet Archive – vol. 5: <link>
[ed.] [tr.] Gwynn, E. J., The metrical dindsenchas, 5 vols, vol. 1, Todd Lecture Series, 8, Dublin: Hodges, Figgis, 1903.
For corrigenda and addenda, see Vol. 5 (1935): 125-126; and Meyer, Kuno, “Erschienene Schriften”, Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie 6 (1908).
CELT – edition: <link> CELT – translation: <link> Internet Archive – vols. 1-3: <link> : View in Mirador
[ed.] [tr.] Gwynn, E. J., The metrical dindsenchas, 5 vols, vol. 2, Todd Lecture Series, 9, Dublin: Hodges, Figgis, 1906.
CELT – edition: <link> CELT – translation: <link> Internet Archive – vol. 2: <link> Internet Archive – vols. 1-3: <link> : View in Mirador
[ed.] [tr.] Gwynn, E. J., The metrical dindsenchas, 5 vols, vol. 3, Todd Lecture Series, 10, Dublin: Hodges, Figgis, 1913.
CELT – edition: <link> CELT – translation: <link> Internet Archive – vol. 3: <link> Internet Archive – vols. 1-3: <link> : View in Mirador
[ed.] [tr.] Gwynn, E. J., The metrical dindsenchas, 5 vols, vol. 4, Todd Lecture Series, 11, Dublin: Hodges, Figgis, 1924.
CELT – edition: <link> CELT – translation: <link> Internet Archive – vol. 4: <link> : View in Mirador
[ed.] [tr.] Gwynn, E. J., The metrical dindsenchas, 5 vols, vol. 5, Todd Lecture Series, 12, Dublin: Hodges, Figgis, 1935.
Internet Archive – vol. 5: <link> : View in Mirador
[ed.] [tr.] Stokes, Whitley, “The prose tales in the Rennes dindshenchas”, Revue Celtique 15 (1894): 272–336, 418–484.
An edition and translation of the prose texts in the Dinnshenchas Érenn as they occur in Rennes, Bibliothèque de Rennes Métropole, MS 598. Missing texts are supplied from the Book of Lecan version.
TLH – edition (I, pp. 277-336): <link> TLH – translation (I): <link> TLH – edition (II, pp. 418-484): <link> TLH – translation (II): <link> Celtic Digital Initiative: <link> Internet Archive – 272–336: <link> Internet Archive – 272–336: <link> Internet Archive – 418–484: <link> Internet Archive – 418–484: <link>
[ed.] [tr.] Stokes, Whitley, “The prose tales in the Rennes dindshenchas”, Revue Celtique 16 (1895): 31–83, 135–167, 269–312, 468.
[ed.] [tr.] Crowe, John O'Beirne [ed. and tr.], “The dind-senchus of Eriu”, The Journal of the Royal Historical and Archaeological Association of Ireland, 4th series, 2:1 — 1872 (1874): 139–190.
Secondary sources (select)
Theuerkauf, Marie-Luise, Dindshenchas Érenn, Cork Studies in Celtic Literatures, 7, Cork: CSCL, 2023.
abstract:
The purpose of the present volume is to provide an accessible overview and entry into the complex literary creation known as Dindshenchas Érenn ‘History of the Notable Places of Ireland’. The five chapters in the book consider different aspects of the Dindshenchas corpus, ranging from the manuscript sources; the format and structure of the various texts so labelled; an overview of the scholarship published to date; the dating of the corpus; the Dindshenchas as a branch of aetiological literature; and an analysis of the literary connections between the Dindshenchas and medieval Irish literature generally.
Hellmuth, Petra S., “The Dindshenchas and Irish literary tradition”, in: John Carey, Máire Herbert, and Kevin Murray (eds), Cín Chille Cúile: texts, saints and places. Essays in honour of Pádraig Ó Riain, 9, Aberystwyth: Celtic Studies Publications, 2004. 116–126.
Ó Concheanainn, Tomás, “The three forms of Dinnshenchas Érenn [part 1]”, Journal of Celtic Studies 3 (1981–1983): 88–101.
Ó Concheanainn, Tomás, “The three forms of Dinnshenchas Érenn [part 2]”, Journal of Celtic Studies 3 (1981–1983): 102–131.
Ó Concheanainn, Tomás, “An dinnsheanchas próis”, Ph.D. thesis, National University of Ireland, Galway, 1977.
Bowen, Charles, “A historical inventory of the Dindshenchas”, Studia Celtica 10–11 (1975–1976): 113–137.
Gwynn, E. J., The metrical dindsenchas, 5 vols, vol. 5, Todd Lecture Series, 12, Dublin: Hodges, Figgis, 1935.
Internet Archive – vol. 5: <link> : View in Mirador
Thurneysen, Rudolf, Die irische Helden- und Königsage bis zum siebzehnten Jahrhundert, Halle: Niemeyer, 1921.
Contents: Part 1 (chapters 1-23): Allgemeines; Part 2 (chapters 1-85): Die Ulter Sage.
Internet Archive: <link>
36–46 direct link
